2024-05-12 12:07:00
The operational arm of the Aragua Train tried to take control of the region through crimes such as homicides, kidnappings, extortion and drug trafficking, among others.
The Regional Prosecutor’s Office of Arica announced, at the restart of the trial of the Los Gallegos clan, the plan of the operational arm of the Tren de Aragua to take control of the region through a series of illicit activities such as homicides, kidnappings, extortion and drug trafficking.
The Public Ministry specified that In March 2022, the first sign of the arrival of Los Gallegos was detectedthrough a wiretap of Chilean traffickers, who commented on the existence of a foreign organization that intended to settle in Arica and control the sale of drugs.
In this context, it was possible to establish the three-phase plan of Los Gallegos to gain control of the region.
The first step was the exploration stage, in which they identified the Cerro Chuño sector as its base of operations; and then continued with the penetration phase, in which they used violence to dominate other rival gangs, instill fear in the population and dominate the territory.
The last phase was consolidation, where they established their financial base and sustainability of their illicit operations, through money laundering.
After that, Los Gallegos put together a criminal structure that included crimes of drug trafficking, homicides, kidnappings, human trafficking for sexual purposes, immigrant trafficking and firearms internment, among other illicit acts, being dismantled in June 2022, within the framework of a mega operation carried out in Cerro Chuño.
The Arica Prosecutor’s Office announced that it will request 11 sentences of life imprisonment for the same number of defendants, in addition to others that total more than 200 years of imprisonment for the remainder. It should be noted that 34 are foreigners, mostly Venezuelans, and four Chileans.